A Study Of Ecological Translation Of English Culture-loaded Words

Language is one of carrier of human culture,which is composed of sentence structure,word meaning,pragmatics and other factors,among which word meaning plays the most important role,reflecting a nation’s long history and culture,thinking behavior,and expression.Culture-loaded words not only have rich cultural connotations,but also exist in a particular culture,reflecting their unique language characteristics from three aspects.Firstly,they are unique to the natural and regional environment of a country.Secondly,they can objectively reflect the development of national material culture,and the differences in religion,beliefs,customs,and habits.Thirdly,some words lack corresponding words in the target language.The eco-translatology is the interdisciplinary theory put forward by Professor Hu Gengshen.The intersection of ecology and translation is ecological environment and translating context,not only a “metaphor”,but also a “signifier”.The metaphor refers to the metaphorical analogy between translation ecology and natural ecology,and the signifier the study of the relationship between translators and the translational eco-environment,in particular,the research on the survival situation and ability development of translators in translation ecology.Its core is to explore the interaction between translators and the translational eco-environment.Its novel translational paradigm and methods have become a hot topic for scholars in recent years.Through literature analysis,case analysis,and questionnaire,focusing on the ecological translation of English culture-loaded words,this thesis discusses the translation of four kinds of English culture-loaded words,that is,English culture-loaded words reflecting regional/marine culture,English culture-loaded words reflecting religious culture,English culture-loaded words reflecting custom culture,and English culture-loaded words lacking corresponding target words.It explores the adaptive selection and transformation for the translation of English culture-loaded words in linguistic,cultural,and communicative dimensions made by the translator,probes and concludes the ecological translation methods of English culture-loaded words to expand and promote the translation theory and practice of English culture-loaded words.According to research and investigation,it is found that in the translation cases of English culture-loaded words,the differences in the linguistic structures and choices of words between Chinese and English are emphasized in the adaptation of linguistic dimension,and the translator adopts literal translation and domestication to retain the characteristics of the source language and the Chinese four-character structures,in order to make the adaptive selection and transformation in the linguistic dimension;the treatment of English religion and custom is considered in the adaptation of cultural dimension,and the translator combines the translation methods of literal translation(transliteration)plus annotation,fusion,substitution,and transformation to effectively convey the connotation of the culture-loaded words and adapt to the religious and custom culture of the target language,in order to make the adaptive selection and transformation in the cultural dimension;the communicative purpose is achieved in the adaptation of communicative purpose,and the translator adopts the translation method of fusion for lexical vacancy and the translation methods of transformation,substitution,and adaptation for the semantic vacancy to avoid intercultural communicative barriers,in order to make the adaptive selection and transformation in the communicative dimension.Through the investigation of 200 English majors and 320 non-English majors,it is found that there are some problems about the popularization and application of the ecological translation and methods of English culture-loaded words,and this thesis will put forward some strategies.To sum up,this thesis makes a study of ecological translation of English culture-loaded words,which is a new research perspective and an innovation for traditional translation theory and methods.The selection and transformation in three dimensions of the ecological translation made by the translator can better convey and analyze the translation development and essence of English and Chinese culture-loaded words,and various translation methods can reveal the close relationship between ecology and translation faithfully,successfully,and appropriately.The circular interpretation and continuous interpretation are made to achieve re-creation so that readers can understand the intercultural differences between Chinese and Western cultures.This study enriches the translation theory and the related research of English and Chinese culture-loaded words,and also provides practical strategies for students to better understand the connotation and ecological translation of English culture-loaded words and some suggestions for promoting ecological translation.